This invention relates to copying apparatus, and more particularly to a copying apparatus of the type which makes it possible to select a position for placing an original depending on the type of the original and which enables copies different in size from the original to be produced if the original is of the type suitable for doing so.
Originals for document copying can be broadly divided into two groups. One group consists of originals which are bulky, such as books (hereinafter referred to as book originals), and the other group consists of single documents or drawings (hereinafter referred to as sheet originals). When copies of a book original are to be produced, the present practice is to provide a glass plate of a size large enough to place the original thereon and to move a light source along the surface of the original to illuminate the same and to produce an optical image thereof. In copying apparatus wherein copying of a book original can be effected, it is possible to effect copying of a sheet original so long as the sheet original is of a size which is large enough to be placed on the glass plate. Thus the copying apparatus generally available nowadays are of the type which are adapted for producing copies of book originals.
When copies of a sheet original are to be produced by using the copying apparatus of the aforesaid type, it is common practice to position the sheet original in a predetermined position on the glass plate depending on the size of the original and to press the surface of the sheet original against the surface of the glass plate by means of a pressing plate. Since the sheet original is light in weight, there is the possibility of the sheet original deviating from the proper position when an external force is exerted thereon, no matter how small such external force may be. Thus, even if the sheet original is placed in a proper position on the glass plate, it may be made to deviate from the proper position by misoperation of the pressing plate. Such being the case, it is a nerve-racking, troublesome operation to hold the sheet original in position by means of the pressing plate without causing deviation of the sheet original from the proper position.
When only the sheet originals are handled, it is more advantageous to use a copying apparatus of the type in which the light source is fixed and a sheet original is illuminated by a slit illumination source by feeding the sheet original to an illuminating position. When this type of copying apparatus is used, there are no limits placed on the length of an original and the original may have any length as desired, although the width of the original is limited by the length of the slit illuminating position. Thus it is not desirable to use copying apparatus adapted for book originals for producing copies of sheet originals.